Who doesn’t know about Squid Game and the dalgona candy it popularized? Or perhaps the tangy and spicy kimchi?
South Korea has become well-known all around the globe because of several reasons such as: the viral PSY’s “Gangnam Style” song, BTS, and the many heart-moving dramas they have. All of these bring attention to Korea and its culture, and we can never forget about the foods too when we talk about culture.
Named as one of the healthiest people in the world, it is also thanks to a wide variety of mouth-watering foods that they have. From fresh veggies to fermented ones, the seafood and meat, let’s check and try out some easy to make Korean hearty foods!
Japchae was once a royal dish, now can be eaten by all folks. Savory and slightly sweet, it uses glass noodles made out of sweet potato starch (can be substituted with vermicelli), all purpose or light soy sauce, sesame oil, any stir-fried vegetables, and meat!
Simply remove the meat and add more vegetables to make a vegan japchae.
Bibimbap has existed in Korea for many centuries and is one of Korea's traditional foods. It is a crunchy, spicy, and sweet dish mainly made out of a bowl of rice with sautéed and seasoned vegetables, thin sliced beef, sesame oil, soy sauce, and most importantly, gochujang!
There are a lot of bibimbap variants out there, see which variant you like the most.
Bulgogi is believed to have its history dating back to 37 B.C.! The "fire meat" is made out of meat marinated with grated Asian pear, minced garlic, minced ginger, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and some use gochujang too. You can fry it, grill it, or BBQ it with some vegetables and serve as a dish eaten with rice.
Gyeran-jjim, literally "steamed egg", is fluffy, savory dish popular in Korea. It is made out of eggs, usually dashi or anchovy broth but you can use vegetables/meat broth or just water, sesame oil, fish sauce is optional, chopped green onion or any vegetables/ham
Now for something refreshing: Hwachae!
Hwachae also has a long history and it was considered to be a luxurious beverage for royals. It is a watermelon punch made out of balled or cubed watermelons, various other berries or fruits, nata de coco, strawberry milk, condensed milk or honey, and modern Koreans also usually use carbonated drink to the mix. Truly a refreshing beverage!
There are still more but for now do enjoy trying out some of these foods and don’t forget to bite some kimchi as you eat!